I WISH I could sit with each of you and tell you personally why it’s time for me to move on from editing and publishing this great newspaper. It’s this particular sense of closeness with my readers that I have valued so much over the past three-plus years of putting out the Kickapoo Free Press. Like no other writing job I’ve had, I get a sense of making a difference in our communities, of having an exchange, of being a part of your life.

The Kickapoo Free Press has, over a series of 38 issues, developed a personality that helps define the little part of the world that we call home. I am proud of what this group of writers, editors, illustrators, designers, photographers, and business side staff has pulled off month after month.

We have presented ideas and told stories that no one else in the region is writing about. We’ve provided a place for writers to contribute in a meaningful way to their community. We’ve created a lively, beautiful, and well-written newspaper that has become, very quickly, a much-anticipated part of living in the Kickapoo Valley. In 2009, we were honored with Couleecap’s People Helping People award for journalistic excellence. It’s a mission we take to heart. Our vibrant pages, delightful for the eye, give small businesses a professional look and a place to shine and connect with more than 5,000 readers each month. We have raised the bar for small businesses in this region, designing remarkable ads that leave a lasting impression. That’s why every month, we hear from our advertisers that their ads bring people to their shops, their events, their ideas.

But ads are just one part of a paper. A paper can have the best ads ever and it won’t matter if no one reads it! This has never been a problem for the Kickapoo Free Press. People read our paper—often, I hear, every single word of it. There are many reasons for this paper’s solid success in such a short time, (we’ve been able to be in the black since year one), but one of the main reasons it works is because it’s the ongoing narrative, description, and dialogue of our people.

We don’t cover news from the state of Wisconsin, the country, or the rest of the world unless it directly links to the people in our communities. There are many sources for this other news. And not so many sources for fantastic stories about the issues and ideas that our neighbors, friends, and colleagues deal with every day. When you open the Kickapoo Free Press, no matter if you’re a farmer, artist, teacher, or banker in our community, there is likely to be a story or a column or a write-up of an event that you’re connected to in some way. These stories matter to our readers in a personal way. We take ideas and issues facing our community, analyze the themes, and write cohesive, well-informed pieces that not only give people real information, but also provide a fresh and incisive perspective.

Our writers are a dedicated and thoughtful group. They’ve been the backbone of the organization. We also have our very own sharp-penned political cartoonist in Mark Taylor, something that very few papers our size can boast. And artist Peter Hodapp has given our pages an elegant and gritty look at our world. We’ve enjoyed super photography from Richard Bock, Rick LaMartina, Carolyn Solverson, and others. We’ve had some fun with the Sheriff’s report, and we love to tell the quirky story just because we want to.

As editor and publisher, I’ve had the pleasure of working with this talented group and also hearing from the rest of the community about the importance of the Kickapoo Free Press. I have enjoyed almost every part of putting this paper together. It will be difficult for me to leave this role behind. But the time has come in my life for me to look at other things that must be done. I have a book that needs writing, children who need more of my attention, other avenues I’m ready to pursue.

So I’m ready to sell the paper. I am, perhaps unwisely, the kind of person who considers all the angles, and may take a long time to make a decision. Once made, though, I jump. The Kickapoo Free Press is for sale. I will run it through September and then it will be time for me to do other things. My hope for the paper, for this community, is that someone will jump in to continue the fine work that this group is doing and expand it beyond what it is today. There is so much more to be done. The advertising potential has just begun to be tapped; I know that the community resources are here to support this paper. All we need now is an excellent leader to make that happen.